10 Mo. Old Waking for Bottle

Please trust your instincts and respond to your daughter's need for milk or the comfort of mommy and daddy's sleeping company. No one wants to cry at night because they are hungry or lonely, especially a little baby.

D.,

Let her cry it out. I made the mistake of letting my son sleep with us and now he is 2 1/2 and still sleeps with us. I asked my doctor about it and they told me to let him cry. It took about 5 days before he got on a schedule where he wouldn't even cry. The doctor said it might take a week or two. When I moved I put him back in the bed with me and it has been exhausting ever since. If you feel more comfortable putting her in the bed with you just think of how comfortable you will be in a year or two. Not only will your daughter get use to it but so will you. It's like having a little teddy bear now but when she gets to be older it's harder to break them. My suggestion is to get up in the middle of the night no matter how hard it is and feed her if you think she is hungry. It won't last long for the months go by very fast. You will always be tired so try to make it as easy as possible now. Good Luck!

Elizabeth G is right. Trust your instincts, and don't let anyone push you around regarding your little one. My 16-month-old daughter is hungry (stomach growling) after 5-6 hours of sleep, so I feed her then, and sometimes more frequently.

Hi! My daughter will be 2 in a couple of weeks, but we went through this too. She didn't have GERD, but had jaundice (required 2 oz. every 2 hours for weeks!) and has always been small, so she had a small intake capacity. We gave her bottles in the middle of the night until our ped told us exactly what yours told you. He was right. It was a rough couple of nights when we stopped giving her the bottle, but what a relief not to have to get up. It was just habit for her, and until we stopped reinforcing that habit, it was bound to continue! Now she is healthy and happy and we have all been well-rested for the better part of a year (give or take the occasional rough spot!). Good luck!

ME: 34-year old SAHM to first child, almost 2!

My 10 mo old son has GERD as well and has never taken more than 5 1/2oz at one feeding. He will either consume enough solids or enough formula during the day, but never both. My GI doctor said that, because he is not consuming enough calories during the day, he is waking at night for a bottle. He even does this when I have slept with him to test the theory. I have even given him water and this does not satisfy him. He's just plain hungry. I have tried everything under the sun to get more calories in him, but have only been successful on a few occasions because he can only eat small amounts and there are only so many hours in the day.

I believe that your doctor is confusing this waking for calories with expecting a bottle out of habit. You could try weaning her by gradually replacing milk with water until she's just taking a bottle of water. We have tried the crying it out, but only when we have elimated the hunger, pain, etc. Ultimately, go with your gut.

I know that you are concerned with starting bad habits, but this situation is entirely different than the normal baby who is not underweight and just waking up for Mom and Dad.

My daughter also had GERD. She did the same thing. She never got her recommended amount of milk in the daytime. The doctor told me to stop as well. The only problem was that she was hunger!!!! She needed that bottle. I would go with your instinct. You know your daughter better than anyone else. If you feel like she needs that bottle and she is giving you all the signs she does....then give it to her. There is no reason to make her or you miserable. Once we started my daughter on whole milk at 13 months she did start drinking 8 oz at a time. She also started to sleep through the night as well.

HI D.! I have a now 2 1/2 yr old with GERD as well. He was a preemie weighing only 2 lbs when born and only 3 lbs 10 oz when we brought him home. He has for the most part always gotten up in the middle of the night to take his Pediasure. He was so small he couldn't eat much volume at once and then as he grew even when he ate more he was throwing much of it up so I always excused it as well. Our pediatrician and our GI dr told us to always give him his milk if he wanted it as he was so small and needed his calories. He just now weighs 24 lbs. Not sure if this is part of your dilema or not. I also cannot let him cry for long because he will throw up! So I feel your pain! I also have been guilty of bringing him back to bed with us out of pure exhaustion but try not to make a habit of it. So unfortuately, my son still gets up most every night to have milk but I just always try to put him back in his crib after. I am not sure if his still getting up is due to habit or if he really needs the Pediasure but I just cannot deny him of that at this stage in the game. I just try to remember that he is growing up so fast and this is a short period of time to deal with this in the scheme of things. He is still on Prevacid for his reflux and I just pray he begins to grow out of it sometime very soon!!!! Hang in there and hope this helps!

If you feel she needs her bottle give it to her. My daughter is a healty 2 yr old with no medical problems and she still wakes for a drink in the middle of the night. Since she is off the bottle we give her a sippy cup. She used to wake for a drink alot but no it is down to once a night sometimes not at all. When she wants a drink she will continue crying for it till she gets it. Her doctor asked how long she would be up crying for a drink when I explained we actually tried not giving her a drink and after 4 or 5 hrs we gave in and gave it to her. He said to go ahead and give her a drink when she needs it. It is not good for baby or parent to let them cry. Some babies need more than others. Crying that long is not because it has became a habit. He said she will grow out of that. It looks like he was right since she is not waking up for it as much as she used to. Now if we can work on the binky issue we will be set!!

D.,

I know this isn't the popular solution, but I am a stay at home mom of 3 boys. I have never let any of them cry it out. I think your docter is giving you philisophical advice rather than medical and that the choice should be your decision, not his. If you think she needs more food and you're ok with her getting it at night for now, then you have no problem. If the night waking is difficult for you there is a book titled "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. It offers effective strategies to get your baby to sleep through the night without leaving her to cry it out. Good luck. Hope this helps.
A. C.

Hi D.,
Babies get very used to routines and get accustomed to things. So when you change them they get upset now knowing why you are making these changes. Though she may not "need" that bottle, she is used to waking up and expecting it as well as sleeping with you guys afterwards. So if that changes, she will of course get upset wondering why things have changed!
Your ped is right though, she does not need that bottle (nutritionally) and she will make up for whatever she stops getting at night during the day. Babies are very good making sure they take what they need to eat over a period of time. So don't fret over ounces a feeding or even in one day--it should be looked at more over a week and even then not scrutinized unless your ped sees growing and developmental issues. Kids just eat different based on activity, growing spruts, etc. So don't get too crazy counting. Even with GERD--I'm sure you arleady know all of the "aids" out there to keep her head above her heart so I won't go into that :)
So now you just need a plan to help her transition into not wanting that bottle at night or wanting to sleep with you guys. So everyone can sleep through the night! I don't think any one post could really lay out something detailed enough for you. I don't know if you are like me, but I want to make sure of what I am doing so I have the confidence to follow through--because if it doesn't work right away, I may quit thinking I'm doing something wrong-- (and every transition plan takes at least a couple of nights before you see results--remember she is used to things a certain way!).
Anyways, I would suggest reading one or both of these two books: (you can get both at the library)
Good Night Sleep Tight
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Night-Sleep-Tight-Helping/dp/1...

The Baby Whisperer Solves all of your Problems...
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Whisperer-Solves-Your-Problems...

Both use similar gentle techniques to help you teach your child to sleep through the night. The latter will also help with feeding and transitioning into toddlerhood.

Good luck, of course these two books aren't the only ones out there, they are sooo many---I have just personally seen results with the Baby Whisperer as have many of my mom friends, and Good Night Sleep Tight has since been released since my son was born, and all I have heard are wonderful things about it too!

Just find a plan you are comfortable with and stick to it--at 10 months she will be sleeping through the night in her crib before you know it!

Good luck!

K.

my oldest daughter had it so bad she spit up/threw up everythign that hit her stomach.. well it seemed so except she was growing and gaining weight. it stopped when i got her off the bottle and onto a sippy at a yr old. i would try a soft nippled sports sippy and see if that helps some, also instead of feeding try her meds and see if its not discomfort causing her to wake. i know my now 6 yr old middle child had gerd and was on meds to control it. she would spit up the acid. and the meds nipped it in the bud great. gl the decision will always be yours mom. dr can offer advice its up to you to take it. good luck :)

Hi D.,

My son had severe reflux undiagnosed for a long time. He drank a lot of fluid at night and up until he was almost 3 he had a bottle in bed with him everynight. If the bottle was empty he would wake up crying, or once in a bid boy bed he would come and get me, wanting more in his bottle. Of course the docs freaked out and said he should be able to sleep and did not need a bottle. Well they did not live with him and had no idea what it was like. I believe that docs dont know everything so if you think your daughter needs that bottle at night then she needs it. If you are more comfortable letting her sleep with you then go for it. They are only young once, and when it is over there is no going back. Take care and good luck

T.

My daughter also was diagnosed with GERD (when she was 2 1/2 months) and the doctor had me put cereal in her bottle. This helped her sleep through the night even with a 4 oz bottle because it was so heavy with cereal. Does your doctor have you putting cereal in the bottle? Also, my daughter would wake in the night and I thought she was hungry. After trying different things I discovered she was having heartburn (which the bottle soothed). She wasn't nessarily hungry but she was uncomfortable. Luckily her highchair was the kind that could be lowered to the floor and tilted back. It also had cloth padding. I was so tired one night that I put her down in the high chair with it tilted back and she calmed down and went back to sleep. I carefully buckled her in and slept on the couch so I could see her if she woke. She slept through the night!!! I started doing this everynight when she woke (which was usually around 2:30am)and she would just go back to sleep! Maybe your child is not hungry. Maybe she is having heartburn and just needs to be more upright to relieve the discomfort. Just a thought. I do not remember exactly when my daughter stopped waking up during the night but she did eventually sleep all night in her crib.

I recommend that you just watch your baby's cues and respond accordingly. Babies know what they need.